Why Scientists Should Embrace The Liberal Arts: Article Analysis

In the 2014 article, “Why Scientists Should Embrace the Liberal Arts,” former Cornell president, David J. Skorton, argues that scientists need to find a better way to communicate their knowledge with the public. Skorton mentions that the general public often has a difficult time believing what scientists try to tell them because they cannot comprehend their jargon. He believes this is happening because scientists lack the skills and education needed to effectively communicate their ideas to the public. Overall, the main goal of Skorton’s article is to display the disconnect between the public and scientists. Based on the content of the paper we can infer that Skorton’s targeted audience is not only educators and scientists, but also the general population because the article brings up issues that are applicable to all. This article is the most effective in obtaining its goal compared to all the other articles read in class because it intertwines logic along with clear examples and other rhetorical strategies such as tone to prove its point. Firstly, Skorton uses specific evidence to create a sense of necessity for his argument. He starts off his writing with a scenario that may alarm many. Skorton writes that although , “ a definitive study published in the August 2013 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics . . . debunked the vaccine–autism link . . . the percentage of parents who delay or forgo immunization of their children has increased alarmingly in recent years” (Skorton). Even with a resounding amount of scientific research, the general population still does not believe that vaccines are beneficial to your health. Furthermore, Skorton writes that “as a result, measles, mumps and whooping cough are making a comeback”(Skorton). Based on this we can infer that Skorton uses this specific example as it may be more persuasive because it creates a sense of urgency by showing how the disconnect between scientists and the public could directly lead to extremely detrimental effects to our health. Additionally, Skorton continues his argument by mentioning other examples such as GMOs and “global climate change” that closely affect our lives but yet many fail to correctly understand, even with with the vast scientific knowledge at our hands (Skorton). In comparison, many of the other articles choose different types of evidence which may not create the same persuasive effect. For example, the article “Advice from Engineers” states how an engineer to be able to write, without impacting out why this style of writing is essential in the long run. Similarly, in the article “Perspective of an Engineer” , not all the evidence used seems as important as those used in this essay. Specifically, the article cites engineer …show more content…
By using complex language and sentence structure he is able to maintain a sense of professionalism that allows him to be taken seriously. However, he also uses examples that some may find more relatable and that may make it easier for some to comprehend Skorton’s argument. For instance, Skorton pulls out a line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, where a character says that “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate” (Skorton). Moreover, Skorton also uses the example of the famous television show M*A*S*H to state a possible solution to the central issue. On the other hand, Theresa MacPhail’s article “The Importance of Writing Skills in Tech Related Fields” sticks to a completely professional tone. She only refers to the most qualified executives as support for her claims, and does not provide alternate methods of comprehension for those who are new to the field of technology and many not necessarily understand some of the technical language used in her article. To conclude, Skorton’s use of tone is the more effective because it prevents those who are not familiar with the context of the article from being …show more content…
Through his rhetorical strategies and choices, Skorton makes it clear that future scientists need to embrace education in the humanities and arts, in order to bridge the communication gap between themselves and common people. His decisionmaking in this article allows him to create a compelling case that is understandable to almost anyone who reads the article. While other articles do an adequate job in emphasizing their own points, Skorton makes the most successful choices in terms of using relevant evidence and tone to persuade and capture the attention of the